In all honesty, Soul of Darkness is a decent game that adequately captures the gothic spirit of the Castlevania franchise. Unfortunately, its failure to expand upon promising game mechanics, its criminally short playtime, the absence of any real challenge, and the lack of compelling replay value make it hard to recommend.

In the end, the game's biggest sin may be not embodying U.A.'s "Plus Ultra" spirit, and simply settling for being a decent, good-looking fighting game take on a popular anime franchise.

Some players will relish the challenge, but I just couldn't. Not in this game. Below puts its best foot forward in its early hours and then never stops losing steam. If the experience were somehow compressed into a tighter six- to eight-hour adventure, I'd confidently recommend it to a wide audience. As it stands, the game has a masterful command of ambience, but it comes with too many caveats.

Despite my many complaints, Rebel Galaxy did put a smile on my face. It's an ambitious little game that regrettably tries too hard to grab something out of its reach, but what it does get its hands on is excellent.

Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel is worth playing for patient survival horror fans who want something lighter on combat, and can handle budget-constrained rough edges. Monsters wander around in an effort to raise the stakes, but the focus is on meticulous exploration, just-cryptic-enough puzzle-solving, and mentally mapping out the many, many hotel halls.

It's a squad-based game that just happens to take place in an open world, and that's basically it. I don't see Division lasting as long as other, similar games either months down the line, as it simply doesn't allow for anything on a raid-like level to truly hook in the dedicated crowd.

X8 gets unfairly lumped in with X7, but as a result of this collection (and the previous X collection on PS2 and GameCube) it can make its mark on history again.

I found the overall experience to be a little underwhelming. It's fun for a short rhythm game, but with only 12 levels, it felt like Laserlife never really got a chance to fully explore the broad topics it brought to the table.

Occasionally, it doesn't feel quite weird enough to carry the whole concept of a human schoolgirl at an all-bird high school, but there's still plenty of laughs to be had for a brief experience that you're going to have to play through multiple times to fully enjoy.

As a cute little taster of the RAGE experience, Mutant Bash TV is certainly a good idea. The price point is perfect, and even tough the controls are annoying, it's worth picking up just to experience a terrific looking shooter set in a promisingly gruesome world.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare: Continuum is an uneven but above average pack. It pales in comparison to Sabotage, but hasn't dragged down the season pass as a whole in any meaningful way.

It didn’t succeed in completely killing my enthusiasm for a new game in a forgotten series. No. It just made me want a deeper, more polished experience, and that’s not the worst thing for a game to do.

Realistic and immersive war situations, however, don't make for great gameplay.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom puts a new spin on the series’ formula but never quite finds itself. I like coming up with creative ways to use as bed as much as the next person, but I’d prefer if the challenges were more consistently creative in return. Instead, things just bled together until I could have just played on autopilot. It takes more than a dress and a bed to keep things interesting.

The Surge is a mix of interesting ideas and hiccups in execution. While there's no doubt that it will resonate with a specific, hardcore audience, it's missing just enough to alienate a generalized audience. Its combat is challenging, but not perfect; its story starts with a compelling hook but falls flat shortly after. There are echoes of something special running throughout The Surge, but it never escapes its own shadow.

If you are craving some LotR action or want to play a bold new MOBA, there is a lot to like about Guardians of Middle-earth. It's a shame that its lackluster community and frustrating technical issues get in the way of that.

Time on Frog Island probably isn’t going to set the indie scene on fire, but it is a pretty worthwhile jaunt with charming characters, a beautifully rendered world, and a level of freedom designed to reward the curious among us. Just keep in mind that, despite its approachable appearance, its minimalist design may result in a lot of wasted time spent scouring this island trying to figure out what the heck you’re supposed to do next.

Death's Gambit resonates as a flawed gem, one I'm happy to have played. It's an uneven experience bogged down by technical woes and stilted combat, but if you can enjoy less-than-pristine games in spite of rough spots, it's worth taking a chance on. Just hold out for a few patches first.

Dwelling somewhere between mediocrity and greatness, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It's just not a very good one either. A nuanced, rhythmic, and generally entertaining combat system awaits alongside a nascent story for those that can endure more than their fair share of suffering.

Despite lasting only a couple of hours, Bloodforge still feels like it outstays its welcome thanks to its duotone environments and the feeling that everything on offer has been offered countless times in better packages. Still, if you love old school brawlers enough, you will have a solid, if fairly unremarkable, little button masher that will at least justify the asking price.

If you're into the idea of playing an open world game where its arcadey elements are entwined with therapeutic but sometimes dry exploration, give it a shot.

There's an air of freshness about it that works in some ways and falls flat in others. Dead Kings isn't likely to reignite anyone's love for Assassin's Creed, but it certainly won't extinguish any existing flames, either.

While some of Conan Exiles has rubbed off a bit for me thanks to friction with its more cumbersome aspects, it remains a genuinely engrossing experience to play... if you can find a spot in the queue.

Despite its narrative shortcomings, Draugen still has plenty to offer. Graavik has no shortage of beautiful views and stunningly detailed locations. In under three hours, Draugen pulls off a series of well-composed shots that are worth the entry price alone. Teddy and Lissie's story never reaches its full potential, but there are worse ways to spend a few hours than exploring a wind-swept fjord.

It is not an amazing experience which will change your life but a very competent open-world shooter with some good ideas and a few shortcomings in the execution. It's very easy to recommend as a rental since the game can be completed on a spare weekend and absolutely worth playing once.

While A Matter of Family may be worth it for hardcore Batgirl fans, WB will have to do a lot better than this to justify the cost of the pass.

Offers a much bigger challenge than most recent adventure games, even with its streamlined features. Despite the much appreciated highlight-all-objects function, the puzzles are still challenging and this is a game that will take even point-and-click enthusiasts a while to complete. Newcomers, however, may find the steep difficulty too much and if you don't click with the characters and their story, then you may find Chains of Satinav just too overwhelming and frustrating.

Duck Side of the Moon is a cozy, bite-sized space adventure that leans on charm and variety more than depth. As Doug the duck, you’ll bounce between floating asteroids, help quirky rock-dwelling locals, and dip into a steady rotation of mini-games that give the small world plenty of personality. A flexible movement system keeps traversal smooth and exploration rewarding, but its shallow progression, occasional navigation frustrations, and a handful of bugs hold it back from reaching its full potential. It’s an easygoing throwback to classic family-friendly adventure games—pleasant and full of ideas, but ultimately light on impact.